How many bugs per night do bats eat?

The Mexican bats from the Bracken cave in Texas can eat almost 250 tons of insects every night during summer. They can help with the balance of the ecosystem by feeding on agricultural pests and night-flying insects.

Bats and Insects

Bats provide pest control services that are free for farmers. When bats hunt in the evening, they will consume food that is about 25% - 75% of their body mass. The Myotis lucifugus or brown bat can eat almost 11 grams of insects every night. Tadaruda brasiliensis or Mexican free-tailed bats that can be found in Texas consumes 8.4 metric tons of bugs every single night. The number of insects that are removed by bats every year is astronomical. This saves about $20 billion in the agricultural industry for farmers in the US. Bats can eat twice their size. Pregnant female bats can eat insects twice their body weight. According to the Bat Conservation International website, a single bat can fee on around 1000 mosquitoes in a single hour. The De Hoop cave that is located in South Africa has an estimated 300,000 bats inside it. It is believed that these bats are the reason why farmers were saved from spending a lot on insecticides every year.



Bats’ Diet

There is another research from San Antonio headed by Professor Pete Taylor that’s Mexican free-tailed bats prefer stinkbugs. These stink bugs are considered to be one of the major agricultural pests for farmers living around the area. The Free-tailed bats primarily feed on cotton bollworm moths, and corn earworm in order to survive. Diet varies on bats’ species. Almost 70 percent of bats consume insects. Bats can consume fruits and nectar. There is also a kind of bat that is called the vampire bat because they feed on blood. There are also bats that feed on fruits. They eat fruits including mangoes, avocados, peaches, and dates. They help in seed dispersals of fruits to various locations.

Bats and Echolocation

Bats have a detector called echolocation. Bats can detect prey through echolocation. They are also able to catch prey even if it is zero percent visibility. They emit a high-frequency sound that can only be heard by other bats. Insectivores depend on echoing sounds to locate insects at night. They have a sophisticated sense of hearing. Based on the echoes that they can hear back, they can determine the texture of an object, how fast they are traveling, the size, and their exact location. Bats can also detect a body of water through echolocation.

Importance of Bats

It is widely recognized that without bats, humans won’t be able to control insects. Bats are valuable to the ecosystem. They contribute to the balance of the ecosystem by feeding on pests. Bats also bring us tequila. Bats pollinate the seeds of the agave plant which is where commercial tequila comes from. They pollinate fruits, nuts and flowers and even cocoa. The next time you eat chocolate, don’t forget to say thanks to the bats.


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